Registration for this event is now CLOSED because we have reached capacity.
If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please email Alicia.Carr@ohrc.on.ca

Program

Opening remarks

Morning plenary

Learn about the many ways racial discrimination and racial harassment can harm individuals and communities. This session will also equip you with some critical tools to identify and overcome this type of discrimination.

Morning concurrent sessions

Please choose one when you register

C1: Human rights essentials

This introductory session offers a primer on human rights, including an overview of Ontario’s Human Rights Code, the grounds and social areas the Code covers, forms of discrimination, the duty to accommodate, and how Ontario’s human rights system works.

C3: Human rights and Indigenous peoples

Learn how human rights legislation (federal and provincial) applies to Indigenous peoples in the context of Indigenous, federal and provincial jurisdictions. The session will focus on human rights protections under the Ontario Human Rights Code and how these operate for Indigenous peoples and organizations. Indigenous peoples include First Nations, Métis, Inuit and non-status individuals.

C4: Competing human rights and how to address them

When one right appears to conflict with another, what do we do? In this session, you will learn how to identify when rights are competing, and how to analyze and resolve this conflict. You’ll learn about the OHRC’s Policy on competing human rights, and how to apply its framework to your own scenario. Participants should already have a basic knowledge of the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Afternoon concurrent sessions

Please choose one when you register

C5: Human rights and creed

Learn about the range of belief systems that have been found to be creeds under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Explore examples of creed-based discrimination as well as key principles, roles and responsibilities related to the duty to accommodate creed beliefs and practices.

C6: Human rights, gender identity and gender expression

This session features an overview of the OHRC’s Policy on preventing discrimination because of gender identity and gender expression. Learn about the two newest grounds of the Human Rights Code, and what the law requires you to do to accommodate people with diverse gender identities and expressions.

C7: Preventing sexual and gender-based harassment

What is sexual and gender-based harassment? Who is affected? How can employers, housing providers, service providers and others address it when it happens? This session is based on the OHRC’s Policy on preventing sexual and gender-based harassment. It will help you identify sexual and gender-based harassment and provide information on how organizations can prevent and respond to it.

C8: Systemic discrimination

Organizations often have rules or procedures that may not appear to discriminate or intend to discriminate, but that negatively affect or cause barriers for groups who identify with Human Rights Code grounds. Learn about ways to identify and rework these rules including the importance of collecting human rights-based data. Participants should already have a basic knowledge of the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Afternoon plenary

Panel discussion: Removing the “Canadian experience” barrier

The panel will explore the impact of requiring “Canadian experience” for jobs or professional accreditation. It will review the position the OHRC has taken on this issue in its Policy on removing the “Canadian experience” barrier as well as what employers and regulatory bodies should do to eliminate this barrier.